ISSG Yet to Agree Deal on New Syria Ceasefire, No-Fly Zone - German FM

The negotiators form the Intentional Syria Support Group (ISSG) have so far reached neither a new Syria ceasefire agreement, nor agreed on a no-fly zone in the war-torn country, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.

BERLIN (Sputnik) – On September 9, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov brokered a ceasefire in Syria that took effect three days later. The agreement called for unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid and stipulated that only designated terror groups be targeted in military strikes. On Monday, the Syrian army declared the end of ceasefire regime blaming militants for numerous violations that made the cessation of hostilities unreasonable.

"Today, we have been searching for the ways to resume the agreed cease-fire, to give it at least a chance. So far, we have failed, whether or no, there is no final [agreement]," Steinmeier said following an ISSG ministerial meeting that wrapped up in the early hours of Friday, as quoted by the German Foreign Ministry.

On Thursday, Steinmeier proposed to introduce a non-fly zone over Syria in order to save the ceasefire regime in the war-torn country.

Syria has been mired in civil war since March 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. In October, the format of the international negotiations on Syria was extended to the ISSG, which includes Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, the United Nations, as well major EU and Arab countries.